San Antonio, May 11 (EFE).– The Oklahoma City Thunder moved within one victory of a berth in the Western Conference Finals with a 95-91 victory here over the San Antonio Spurs, who were unable to contain point guard Russell Westbrook in the final minutes of the contest.

Westbrook scored 35 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out nine assists, but it was his performance down the stretch that proved decisive Tuesday night at the AT&T Center.

He scored seven points over the final four minutes of the game, including sealing the win with a three-point play with 6.3 seconds left on the clock after the Spurs’ defense was unable to stop his drive to the rim with an intentional foul.

Superstar forward Kevin Durant, for his part, put up a stat line of 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals as the third-seeded Thunder took a lead of three games to two in that best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series, which will move to Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City for Game 6.

Two additional factors in the Thunder’s victory were their offensive rebounding, with centers Steve Adams and Enes Kanter notching four offensive boards apiece, and their more numerous trips to the free-throw line, where they shot 20-of-26 compared with the Spurs’ 13-of-17.

The Thunder also did a solid job on the defensive end, holding second-seeded San Antonio to 40 percent shooting from the field.

Superstar forward Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Spurs, scoring 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting, but power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker, who finished with 20 points and nine points, respectively, shot a combined 10-of-33 from the field.

The victory was the Thunder’s second in a row at the AT&T Center, where the Spurs lost just one game during the regular season.

The winner of the Spurs-Thunder series will take on either the top-seeded Golden State Warriors or the Portland Trail Blazers in the West finals. EFE

In Costa Rica, local sportsbooks are reporting that bettors are no longer seeing the Spurs as favorites in the NBA Playoffs.

According to IDSca.com, the leading Pay-Per-Head provider in Costa Rica, Game 6 between San Antonio and Oklahoma City features a money line of about +125 for the Thunder and -135 for the Spurs.

It’s rare to see the Spurs, one of the best teams in the NBA, fall to underdog status at home, but that happens to be the wagering moods among some bettors in Costa Rica hoping for a big payday.

The chances of San Antonio making it to the conference finals currently stand at 35 percent.